Iowa Literacy Project

The Iowa Literacy Project is a five-year project funded by the Iowa Department of Education to improve the literacy knowledge and practice of teachers of children with significant developmental disabilities. The first three years of this project focused on supporting interdisciplinary teams throughout the state as they worked to provide comprehensive literacy instruction to students with disabilities in a range of educational settings. The final two years of the project will be spent developing a web-based set of multi-media modules on comprehensive literacy instruction so that educators across the state have tools to assist them in providing balanced instruction to their students.

Center for Disability Studies in Literacy, Language, and Learning

The Center for Disability Studies in Literacy, Language, and Learning at the University of Northern Iowa is an interdisciplinary collective of faculty who share research, clinical, and advocacy interests in literacy learning of individuals with disabilities. To learn more, click here to go to the Center's website.

Lions Share

The purpose of this federally-funded Steppingstones of Innovation grant project is to develop the Lions Share software program which will promote the emergent literacy and communication development of young children with moderate to significant developmental disabilities (aged 2 years-5 years).

Iowa Exceptional Teacher Project

The Iowa Exceptional Teacher Project is a four-year, federally-funded personnel preparation grant to address the number and diversity of highly-qualified special education teachers in Iowa. Dr. Frank Kohler and I are Co-Project Directors for this effort. During the project, we hope to increase the number and diversity of students pursuing certification in mild/moderate disabilities (Instructional Strategist I in Iowa), strengthen our teacher preparation program so that our graduates are prepared to respond to the multiple and evolving roles of special educators, and support the induction and retention of highly qualified special education teachers in Iowa. To visit the grant website, click here.

Technology and Urban Teaching Project 

The Technology and Urban Teaching Project was a three-year, federally-funded Title II grant to support the integration of  technology into the teacher preparation program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Professor Marleen Pugach from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and I headed up this effort.  Though the funding period for this project has expired, you can learn more about this project by proceeding to the grant website by clicking here.

Writing from Inspiration

This afterschool writing project explored the impact writing process instruction and the graphic organizer Inspiration on the writing of first through fifth graders at an inclusive urban school.  Writing from Inspiration was funded by the University of Wisconsin System.  To learn more about this project, please proceed to the project narrative by clicking here. 

Discovering History While Bridging the Digital Divide through Multimedia 

This University of Wisconsin System funded grant was a collaborative, community-based project designed to narrow the digital divide through increasing students’ knowledge of the local community and civil rights movement via the construction of a multimedia documentary.  Assistant Professor Elizabeth Buchanan from the School of Information Studies and I headed up this effort. 

Narrowing the Achievement Gap in Literacy with Digital Bridges

This University of Wisconsin System funded grant was a collaborative project among public school teachers and university faculty.  It was designed to support the literacy learning of children with and without disabilities in K-2 classrooms at an urban elementary school through staff development and the integration of technology.  Associate Professor Judy Winn, also from the Department of Exceptional Education, and I are headed up this effort. 

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Amy Staples' Web Page. URL: http://www.uni.edu/staples.  Last update: 01/30/2013 .
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